Counseling
by UndercoverDorks
Summary: A lifelong rivalry between Nate Gray and Alex Russo causes them to go into counseling together. Will they be able to put aside their differences and find what they've been trying to hide for years? NALEX. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

_

* * *

__COLLABORATION ALERT!_

_First half (up to the second '--', or 'Alex wasn't worth his time') by MyFrenzy, everything else by MikayLee. :)  
We had so much fun writing this chapter, we hope you will enjoy it as well!  
Reviews make us update more quickly...;)_

_Love, _

_Claudie&Mikaylie_

* * *

_CHAPTER ONE_

Seven year old Nate Gray looked at Alex Russo, his eyes shining in a way you saw no other seven year old eyes shine. He was captured by her—she was so very pretty, her hair flowing in the playground air, her smile growing wider as her best friend—Nate believed her name was Michelle—whispered something in her ear.

Nate's stomach twisted. How was he to get this very pretty girl's attention? She didn't seem like the kind of girl to want to hang around with him. He couldn't reason any possibility that Alex could come over and talk to him.

His seven year old mind was in a whirl—how to get her attention? How to make her notice him? There had to be a way. There were many reasonable ways—go up to her and say 'hi', ask his friend Dean to say hello for him—so many that maybe an older boy would understand.

But ah, Nate was not at all reasonable. He could only think of one way to make this Alex girl even look at him—and that was by picking on her. How to pick on her though? Nate looked around, trying to figure something out. A weapon—he needed a weapon. But what, though? What could he possibly use in such a crowded, small space they called a playground?

Finally, Nate's eyes rested on the ground. He smiled. Yes, he had found his weapon. A rock, of course! What else could he use? He would most certainly not use his hands—believe it or not, his parents had taught him better than to punch a girl. Nate picked up the rock and enclosed it around his small hand. This had to work. Alex had to look at him now.

He bit his lip and contemplated his plan for a while. Now, what could a first grader really do with a rock without getting in trouble? He could say it was an accident—but who would believe that, really? He could get Dean to come over and pretend to pass the rock back and forth and hit Alex in the head—but this was too complicated for him.

Nate looked at the rock in his hand again and sighed. What was life without a little risk, though? So he marched determinedly to the place where Alex was speaking to her friend and held his breath. Neither Alex nor Michelle looked over at him, so he backed away a bit to have a better shot at Alex's head.

He smiled. The position in which he stood was absolutely perfect. Not too close, yet not too far. He would just throw the rock, as gently as he could, at Alex's head, not hurt her too much, just as much as he could to get her attention…

"Nate, look!"

Nate's surprise overtook him as he heard Dean call his name so loudly. He jumped very high, his heart beating wildly, and he turned around and threw the rock behind him in surprise.

And it went downhill from there.

"Ouch!" Nate heard behind him, and his eyes widened as he whirled around and saw Alex holding her head with two hands and Michelle's eyes widened in horror. Nate took a moment to process what had happened.

Nate was waiting for the crying, for the yelling and shouts for help, the accusations, but instead, Alex slowly turned around and glared so intensely at Nate that his breath literally caught in his throat and his mind was blank as a mind could ever be. Alex was breathing heavily, her eyes watering, but she didn't shed a tear.

Alex walked over to Nate, and he could hear her uneven breathing. His heart hurt by looking at this girl about to cry. Alex opened her mouth to say something, but Nate beat her to it by a heartbeat.

"I'm sorry!" he blurted, sounding desperate. He was going to hit her in the head with rock, yes, but he never imagined it would _actually_ be an accident! "It was truly an accident!"

Alex scoffed at him and shook her head, her eyes still filled with unshed tears. "Yeah, right," she spit at him, and Nate felt even guiltier than before. Her voice, though slightly shaken, still managed to stay somewhat fierce. "You did it on purpose." Alex stated.

"No—" Nate started frankly, but was cut off by his own piercing scream and a sharp pain in his foot. He looked down and saw Alex's foot overlapping his own, force pushing it down and making his foot hurt, oh how much it hurt!

"Stop!" Nate yelled frantically, but Alex didn't comply. Her foot stayed on top of his own, and Nate kept screaming. For such a small girl, she was incredibly strong. He screamed for help again and again, until finally a teacher came to the rescue, actually carrying Alex off of Nate's foot.

Both Nate and Alex were sent to the nurse's office, but they both stayed as far from each other as humanly possible. From that day on, and they'd better believed it, it was a full on war.

--

Alex Russo made her way through the lunch crowd in the high school cafeteria, trying to find her best friend Mitchie. She didn't seem to be in sight, though, so she gave up and sat at their usual table, waiting for Mitchie to come to her.

Alex bit her lip as she looked around. It was another Wednesday in Franklin high school—her least favorite day of the week, in fact—the day when two more courses were served in the cafeteria. Of course, this made the wild, hungry, harmonically challenged high school students even more excited to be the first ones to lunch, to be able to buy their plates.

Alex never ate in school, and neither did Mitchie. They both usually sat at their claimed table and talked for a while, waiting for the bell to ring and make it back to class in time, unlike the other lazy slouches of students, who usually waited about another two minutes before heading back to class themselves.

Alex's fingers tapped the table in rhythm, as she hummed a tune very lowly to herself. The time she would have to wait for Mitchie was unpredictable; she might not even show up at all. So she let her mind drift away, think of something or the other, her thoughts never coherent with one another.

Nate Gray entered the cafeteria alongside his best friend, Dean, as they looked for a place to sit in. Nate usually skipped school at lunch time—half a day of school was enough for him, thank you very much—but today Dean had convinced him to stay. The two extra courses added to the lunch menu were apparently very delicious, and Dean could figure out a way to get both of them a plate for free, and without having to wait.

Well, Nate couldn't complain. As long as he was fed, it didn't matter how long he stayed in this damn prison of a school. But he couldn't help but grimace as he looked around at the filled and crowded place—though only Seniors and Sophomores were here.

Dean noticed Nate's uneasiness. "Alright, okay," Dean said, trying to be supportive of his friend. "Go save us a seat, I'll bring us the lunch in a bit." Dean promised, and Nate merely nodded. Whatever went with the flow, he told himself, and he walked to an empty cafeteria table, not look at anyone.

Wednesday, his least favorite day of the week. He hated it because it was the middle of the week—the day in which everything seemed to take longer. Once it was over, he knew another week was coming to an end soon. So he just wanted to get the day over with. It's no like he would pay attention in any of his classes anyway—and it wasn't as if any of his teachers would care.

Alex looked around and finally saw Mitchie coming over, a huge smile on her face. Alex rolled her eyes—of course Mitchie was happy. When was she not, anyway? But Alex didn't say anything as Mitchie bouncily took her seat across Alex.

"Hello, my dear friend," Mitchie greeted Alex, and Alex only waved. "Isn't it a beautiful day today? So full of surprises and…and surprises?" Mitchie squealed and grinned goofily at Alex, and Alex frowned.

"Alright, something's up," Alex concluded, and Mitchie giggled. "What's new now?" Alex raised an eyebrow at her best friend and Mitchie squealed yet again. Alex was getting quite tired of that—as if there wasn't enough noise in that room.

"Guess who is here?" Mitchie asked, and Alex stayed silent. "Come on! It's someone who rarely ever steps into this cafeteria," Mitchie continued, still grinning. Alex sighed. Was Mitchie seriously asking her to guess?

"I don't know, Chris Pine?" Alex guessed, And Mitchie's smile disappeared. Alex smirked and shrugged. "He's never been here," Alex pointed out, but Mitchie waved her off.

"Fine, don't guess, see if I care," Mitchie said, her smile suddenly returning. "I'll tell you right out, then," Alex sighed and told her to go ahead. Mitchie giggled. "He's sitting right behind you," Mitchie whispered, and Alex tensed. She slowly turned her head around to look behind her, and she caught a pair of brown eyes with her own.

Hatred boiled inside her, her fists clenched involuntarily, and her heart raced in fury. Her mind was suddenly in a different place, ten years prior, and her head started thumping in one place in particular. There, sitting behind her—and she meant right behind her—sat the guy she hated the most in all eternity. _Nate Gray._

Nate looked at her blankly, waiting for her to look away, but Alex was too caught up in her fury to register the look. Just the sight of the guy repulsed her; everything about him was stupid and incoherent. He thought himself such a bad boy, the guy every girl wanted—which wasn't far from the truth, but these stupid, low minded teenage girls didn't know that the Nate that was sitting there in the cafeteria was the same one that caused her the pain in her head and the damage—the permanent damage.

Alex finally turned back around, tears of rage clouding her eyes. Nate looked down and dared not to look up again. Alex couldn't believe the jerk had actually had the balls to sit that close to her—did he have no morals? She didn't want him anywhere near her. He didn't know the trouble, the pain, the struggle he had caused her her whole damn life by causing her to get Dyslexia, and if you asked Alex, he didn't seem to care.

Nate's fists were coiled as well. What imposed Alex to even turn around? He hadn't even seen her sitting in front of him until she had turned around, and now he was angry all over again. He remembered that day—ironically, a Wednesday—when Alex had pushed her foot so hard into his that she had caused permanent damage to it—leading to him not being able to play any type of sports again, due to the fact he could break his foot easily now. He gritted his teeth. Alex had taken away what he had loved the most as a kid, and who knows? He still might love it as a seventeen year old, but it didn't matter, did it? Not because Alex couldn't take an accident.

Nate couldn't handle sitting near Alex any longer, so he stood up and walked out of the cafeteria. He figured Dean could take the hint.

Mitchie stared wide eyed at Alex's flamed eyes. "Lexie?" Mitchie called hesitantly. "Are you alright?" Mitchie bit her lip as Alex looked back down, staring at her legs, then back at Alex, seeming more relaxed.

"I'm fine," Alex promised, but Mitchie wasn't so sure. Still, she took the fact Alex had unclenched her fists and was now breathing evenly as a good sign.

"Just talk," Alex pleaded. "Seriously, just had one of my episodes, no big deal," Alex lied. Mitchie nodded, then her smile spread across her face again. (she knew better than to push Alex)

"Well, you just have to look at the guy," Mitchie said, and Alex tried not to roll her eyes. "He's absolutely, positively gorgeous. And you can't deny it," Mitchie warned Alex, and Alex looked down. Mitchie didn't know that because of Nate, she had her dyslexia. She didn't know how much Alex despised him. She didn't know how much Nate despised her. All Mitchie knew was that Nate was 'gorgeous'.

Alex always knew Mitchie was infatuated with Nate, it really was no secret. She was like all the other teenage girls in this shallow school—drooling over the guy they can't have. She always found it amusing, but never dared to mention that to Mitchie, because she knew she'd be downright offended.

Mitchie stared at Alex. What was wrong with her best friend? She always did this. She got angry out of no where, and then she just stopped talking to her. Frankly, it annoyed her. Mitchie deserved at least a reason as to why. Alex always said it was her 'episodes', but Mitchie just didn't get that.

Of course, she wasn't planning on Alex telling her anytime soon. So she just stayed quiet and waited for Alex to start talking to her again, as much as the silence bothered her.

Nate was already driving down the street, he was sure the headmaster hadn't noticed him walk out of the school, or really he just plainly didn't care. At that moment, it didn't matter. He was just infuriated and intoxicated and he wanted to run home, but running meant a broken foot. So he'd stick to driving.

Nate stopped at a corner where they couldn't see his car (it had a student parking valid, people would know he was skipping) and started walking down the street to the small town market, where they had everything imaginable, and no one questioned a senior not in school.

Nate grimaced as he stepped on a rock with his left foot. He hissed and looked down, and flashbacks came running into his mind. The rock looked oddly like the one he had accidentally thrown at Alex ten years ago. He felt rueful at the memory, but then became angry all over again. It was the day Alex had caused his dreams to shatter into pieces.

So, instead of moping over the fact he never really did mean to hit Alex in the head, he grabbed the rock and applied as much force as was possible, and threw it as far away from him as he could. He didn't need to be reminded that one insignificant girl had ruined his life, and he wouldn't be reminded. Nate knew Alex was fine with it, and the hatred was mutual, but he didn't care. Why would he?

He kept walking, trying to find the closest restaurant. He wasn't going to think about Alex, because he knew it would only get him angrier. As angry as he could possibly get, he reasoned with himself. And it wasn't worth his time.

_Alex_ wasn't worth his time.

--

Alex went about her day as usual, slacking off, and refusing to do anything that involved writing or reading…which was basically everything. Either way, she managed to get by. The incident in the cafeteria earlier that day left her in a frustrated mood, which the teachers sensed the moment she set foot in their classrooms. When she slept through Chemistry, Mr. Potter kept his mouth shut and his eyes away from Alex..

The day was eventually over, and Alex slammed her locker door in a huff.

"Whoa, easy there," Mitchie said walking up with her bag slung over her shoulder. Alex turned her head and glared at her. Mitchie sighed. "Still in a tiffy from lunch?"

Alex laughed weakly, "From now on, avoid using words like 'tiffy'."

Mitchie rolled her eyes and smiled. "Whatever. Hey, are you still going to come to the library with me?"

Alex looked at Mitchie seriously again, "You know I hate libraries."

Mitchie pouted, sticking out her bottom lip and widening her eyes, "B-bu-but…. I don't wanna study alone!" She wailed dramatically.

Alex rolled her eyes, "Just come to my house and study there."

Mitchie sighed, "Fine, let's go." She grabbed Alex's arm and dragged her down the hallway.

After forcing, literally, forcing Mitchie to stop at Dairy Queen, by taking the wheel and abruptly turning into the parking lot. Mitchie was all the while screaming in fear of their lives with Alex at the wheel. Alex generously brought out a blizzard for Mitchie, for putting up with her shenanigans.

Finally arriving at Alex's house, Mitchie was in a hurry to study, so she burst through the door, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw a certain someone sitting at the Russo's kitchen table. Alex smacked into her, "Mitch-" she froze when she saw him sitting at her kitchen table. Her stomach boiled for the second time that day and she walked in front of a dazed Mitchie and walked up to him, flaming. "What the hell are you doing in my house?!"

Before he could answer Justin walked into the room. "Alex, go away, we're busy."

Alex yelled at him, "I want to know why this good for nothing slacker is in our house!"

Justin scoffed, "You're calling him a slacker, when the last four tests you've brought home have been _Fs_. I think you should watch what you say."

Alex glared at him, "And I think you should shut up and get this monster out of the house."

Nate was about to protest when Justin cut him off, "No can do, I am tutoring him."

Alex's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets and her jaw dropped, "What?" she said emphasizing the _t_.

Nate chuckled, thinking of all of the things in her house he could round up to embarrass her in front of their school. Emitting a warning snarl from Alex.

Mitchie finally snapped back into reality, and walked over to Alex taking her arm and pulling her over to the stairs. "Come on, I really need to get studying."

Alex looked back at the demon taking over the only place she could escape him and his dickheadedness.

Nate called after her once she was up the stairs. "Hey Russo, you might not want to go in your room." He wanted to see her reaction, even though he hadn't really done anything to it.

Yet.

Not even seconds later they heard her shriek and run down the stairs in fury. "What the hell did you do Grey?! I swear to god if you stepped one foot in my room you will be sorry you were ever born!" She said inching closer to him by the second, getting dangerously close to attacking.

"Chill out Russo. I would never go into your room, I wouldn't want to catch anything." Nate said with a devilish smirk.

Alex screamed and almost strangled him before Jerry ran in pulling Alex back. "What is with all the yelling in here?" Jerry yelled, dumbfounded. "Alex, go upstairs, and Justin do your job." After ushering Alex up the stairs, Jerry went back into the living room. Alex walked quietly back down the stairs and glared at Nate.

"Watch yourself Grey." She threatened and descended back up the stairs. Nate laughed, whole-heartedly, and loudly. As if she could hurt him. Well...at least this time.

Alex stopped on the stairs and felt herself get angrier by the second, but breathed in slowly, calming herself before she got herself grounded. She stomped up the stairs and walked into her room seeing Mitchie sprawled out on her floor, books already surrounding her.

Mitchie looked up, her face annoyed. "Okay, he hit you in the head with that rock when we were, like, seven. You can't _possibly_ tell me you still hate him over that."

Alex plopped down on her bed and huffed. "You wouldn't understand."

Mitchie sat up and crossed her arms. "Alex, I can't help but think that when he hit you with that little rock that it left such a life changing scar."

Alex reached her boiling point and burst. "Well it did! _That_," she pointed out her door and in the direction of Nate, "is the reason I have dyslexia! He's the reason I suck in school! That 'little' rock ruined my life, and now he goes around not giving a shit about school, when he has all the mental capacity in that big head of his to succeed. I'm out of luck!" She breathed heavily after her rant as she tried to calm herself, refusing to cry.

Mitchie's jaw hung open, dumbstruck. "Lex... I-I had no idea." It finally all clicked, and made perfect sense.

Alex was on the verge of tears, but held them in along with her breath. She breathed out slowly and shook her head, "Now you know why I despise him."

Mitchie bit her lip, beginning to feel bad about all the times she had gotten frustrated with Alex for being so childish. She hadn't realized just how much it had actually traumatized her.

Nate sat at the table, ignoring every pointless word coming out of Justin's mouth. He didn't care about his schoolwork. After Alex ruined his dreams of becoming a pro baseball player, he lost all hope of accomplishing anything at all. At this point he was too pissed off to even be in her house. He stood up and grabbed his very lightly used book bag and stormed out the door, leaving Justin muttering, and clueless. Hearing her front door slam close, Alex smiled to herself, knowing she had pushed just the right buttons. But, once she heard angry footsteps trudge up the stairs, she froze.

"Alex!" Justin burst through the door. "From now on keep your hormonal angst to yourself, I'm getting paid to tutor him."

Alex rolled her eyes at him, also relieved it was Justin, and not Nate. "Justin, from now on stick to being a stupid nerd that nobody likes, and go play with your dolls."

Justin groaned, "For the last time! _They. Are. Action Figures._" He said, giving up and leaving.

Mitchie was studying silently, avoiding talking to Alex after the embarrassing out burst.

Alex spoke up. "Mitch…" she started, "I'm sorry I never told you. I just didn't want to make it a big deal."

Mitchie got up and sat next to Alex on her bed. "All this time you had me thinking you were bipolar," she said with a small chuckle. "I wish you would have told me sooner... But I'm relieved to finally know what the problem has been this whole time."

Alex nodded. "I know, I'm sorry." she leaned over and hugged her.

Mitchie pulled back. "No offence or anything, but this doesn't change my crush." Mitchie said laughing.

Alex sighed but laughed. "Yeah, I didn't think it would."

Mitchie gasped. "OH! You know what I was thinking?" she smiled a goofy grin, "If you married Shane, and I married Nate, we'd be like, related." She was all too excited about the idea.

Alex blinked, "I will never marry Shane Grey. First of all, he doesn't even know I exist. Second of all, the thought of even being semi-related to Nate is nauseating." She didn't want to offend Mitchie. "If we did want to be related though, you marry Dylan Sprouse, I'll marry Cole."

Mitchie stuck her tongue out. "Ick. They aren't even cute."

Alex rolled her eyes with a smile. "Whatever."

Mitchie left after dinner, leaving Alex to her thoughts. Usually she would watch TV or listen to music, but after the day's events, she couldn't think of anything but how much she wished Nate would transfer schools. Looking at him gave her a knot in her stomach that she could only classify as an anger so intense it made her sick. Silently she promised herself she would never forgive him.

Nate sat in his care outside of a raging college party. Usually, he would escape the anger by getting wasted or high. That was his intention when he pulled up to the curb. It was mostly a matter of getting out of the house to escape his parents pleas to improve in his schoolwork, and get a lecture on his "poor choices". Hearing it day in and day out was too much; wasting away at home was never an option. Tonight was different, though; he typically would have dashed out of his Buick to the nearest keg, but tonight he couldn't bring himself to get out. Something about the way Alex provoked him and toyed with his mind using a simple threat—that would never be fulfilled anyways, stuck with him, to the point where he couldn't focus on anything else. Even though he couldn't stand her, he couldn't help but laugh at her attempts to piss him off. It was— dare he say it—cute. Tonight, he was making a list. He grabbed an old receipt and a pen.

_**Ways to ruin Alex Russo's life**_


	2. Chapter 2

A week and a half had passed by since the incident in which Alex blew up and Nate enjoyed it so. A week and half passed by and no change of Mitchie's crush for Nate had happened. A week and a half passed by and Nate and Alex didn't so much as glance at each other.

But a lot could happen after a week and a half.

Alex had always had a crush on Shane Gray. Even before the whole rock hitting the head thing happened between her and Nate, she had always thought Shane was the most beautiful, most perfect guy in the world. He had a smile that could melt your heart and make you smile along with him. He had a sense of humor that would have you laughing until the end of the next week. He had such deep brown eyes that would draw you in and keep you in forever.

In short, Alex was very much convinced she was in love with Shane. But Shane didn't even know Alex existed, and if he did, he only knew her as the girl his brother loathed. So technically, Alex always thought that Shane didn't really even know her name. It saddened her, the fact that every time he walked by, her heart skipped a beat, and he skipped by. Not even a glance. A smile. Nothing at all.

Until that very day—a Wednesday, for crying out loud!—that he had accidentally bumped into her.

Alex was about to growl at the person who even dared touch and hurt her in such a way, until her eyes found their way up and she stayed, gaping, looking at the one and only Shane Gray smirking at her.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "Let me get that for you," he continued, bending down and reaching for the books Alex had dropped in the midst of the bump. Shane reached back up and handed Alex her books, but Alex just stood gaping at him, not even registering the fact that Shane was offering her books back.

Shane suppressed a smile. This girl was amusing—and not very subtle. It was quite hilarious to him how she could have such an obvious crush on him—not that he was complaining, of course. The girl wasn't half bad. Her hair reached over her shoulder and was a strange kind of black, her eyes deep, chocolate brown and her lips pink and soft looking…and still gaping at him.

Finally, he had to smile. "Aren't you going to want your books back?" he asked, and Alex blinked and blushed a deep red. Oh, she felt so stupid! Had she been standing there gaping like an idiot all the while? Did she need another reason for the guy to think she was a loser? Was she not comfortable with her low position already?

Alex bit her lip, and without looking into Shane's eyes, she grabbed her books. "Thanks." She managed to mutter, and she heard Shane chuckled. Alex suppressed a groan. She felt so damn stupid. She was about to walk away, but Shan grabbed her arm.

He smiled at her, and Alex couldn't help but smile back. What had she said before? His smile was oh so contagious. Her heart beat just a tad faster.

"I think I owe you an apology," he told Alex. Shane almost laughed at the way Alex's eyes widened. Where was he going with this? "How about a date? You, me, Friday night?" He winked at her and Alex felt as if she were about to melt. Had Shane Gray actually asked her on a date?

Nate stood on front of his locker, gritting his teeth, watching his brother and Alex flirting. No, this didn't bother him—except the fact that his brother could not date Alex. He hated her! He should know that. Shouldn't he? Nate smirked to himself. He knew one thing that Shane hated the most in a girl—and that was a reputation.

The plan was all formed in his head as he walked over to his brother and the skank. He threw his hand to Shane's shoulder and Shane flinched, looking at his little brother.

Shane blinked. "Yes, Nate?" he asked him, sounding irritated. Nate risked a glance at Alex.

Alex was fuming. Who the hell did this guy think he was? Alex was only barely over the whole going into her house thing, and now this! Where was he getting at? Alex tried not to gag at the sight of Nate, but she tried to control herself. She couldn't give him the satisfaction he wanted, so she put on her poker face and let Nate continue.

Nate glanced back to Shane, and he smirked slowly. Shane blinked at his brother. What the hell was wrong with him? "Trust me, bro," Nate said slowly, the smirk still on his face. Alex's breath caught, and Shane's curiosity burned. "You don't want to be seen with this _slut._"

Ah, the satisfaction on both their faces was enough for Nate to almost laugh with joy. Shane's was repulsed—Alex's was infuriated.

Nate grinned and shrugged, then walked away.

Alex was gaping, tears of fury—or were they of sadness?—in her eyes, refusing to fall. Shane looked back at Alex and grimaced. Then he shook his head and left as well. Alex's fists clenched. How dare he? This freaking bastard dared come over and ruin her moment! Worse—he called her a _slut_!

Those words had sliced through Alex worse than anything Nate had said before. They had hurt her deep, to hear those lies—worse! That Shane had believed them! And she was too angry to even go after him and tell him it's not true, she's only had one freaking boyfriend her whole damn life, and that his brother was a low life dick who was out to get her.

Alex couldn't take it anymore. She let her fury take over her actions as she marched to the direction Nate had left—ran, to be more exact—and she got funny looks from the people around her, but she didn't care. It was time to face Nate Gray and get and explanation.

She looked around frantically, and finally found him. Her heart raced and her stomach boiled at the look of satisfaction on Nate's face. "Gray!" she spat as loud as she could. Curious faces turned her way, others barely acknowledged her. But there was only one face she could see—and that was Nate's.

Nate looked at Alex. Great, what did she want now? He considered turning around and ignoring her, but she seemed to be pretty determined to talk to him, so he stood his ground and raised his eyebrows at her. Alex marched to him, sparks flying out of her eyes. In a way, Nate was scared.

Alex didn't miss a beat. "You know, just because you're bored with your own life," Alex spat in Nate's face. "Doesn't mean you have to make everyone else's miserable." Her nostrils flared and Nate scoffed.

"Russo, I don't have time—" Alex cut him off abruptly.

"Don't you dare!" she shrieked, and she could tell everyone was staring at them now. "As if it wasn't enough you have ruined my whole life, now you're ruining my love life, too?" Alex's tears were finally rolling down her cheeks, and Nate flinched at the sight. He didn't like crying. "You are sent from hell to make everything around me worse than it already is, Gray," Alex breathed in. "Why?!"

Nate blinked. "Because you ruined everything for me," he started out slowly. "You ruined everything in my life that had meaning. I think you only owe it to me to be as miserable as I am!" he finally shouted, starting to shake with fury. Alex gaped at him.

"You're making me more miserable than—wow, Gray," she laughed without humor. "Wow. You can go so low," She laughed. "This is why you have no freaking friends,"

Alex said.

Nate knew Alex hit a soft spot. "I have more friends than you have," Nate retorted, and Alex snorted.

"No, you're too much into yourself to make friends," Alex said. "So therefore, the only human contact that you have that you don't _pay_ for—"

A gasp was heard throughout the hall and everyone stayed silent. Only one noise managed to vibrate through. Everyone was shocked at what they had seen.

Alex's face was turned to the side, one hand covering her cheek. It was burning now, in extreme pain, her eyes in tears. What the hell had happened? She hadn't even finished the sentence when Nate had slapped her.

Nate stared at Alex, guilt in his throat but fury in his words. "Don't you dare finish that sentence." He stated. Alex was about to yell at him and punch him back, when they heard an older voice come from the hall.

"Miss Russo and Mister Gray!" it was frantic, and it was approaching faster. Nate tried to suppress a groan, but Alex was relieved to see someone interfere. She didn't know how much longer it would take.

The headmaster was coming this way, shorter than both of the young teens and running quickly towards them. She looked infuriated at their sight. She quickly walked over to Alex and examined her cheek.

"What is wrong with you two? You can't be making these sorts of displays in school!" the headmaster blurted. She turned to the bystanders and hissed to them to get away, go back to class. Hesitantly, one by one they all left. Alex and Nate still stared at each other, both their hearts beating, both their furies rising.

The headmaster turned back to them. "I assume both of you know this means suspension!" she told them, and Nate almost smirked. Like he wasn't used to that. "More to you, mister Gray, you assaulted a peer," Alex gritted her teeth at the word. "What were both of you thinking?!"

"Now headmaster," all three of them turned towards the voice, surprised. "If I may interfere," Mr. Greene was walking towards them, eyes narrowed, looking straight at Nate. Nate looked down. "I don't think what these two kids need is a suspension."

The headmaster was outraged. Who was this teacher to come tell her how to do her job? "Of course they do!" she hissed at Mr. Greene. "You should have seen—" Mr. Greene interrupted her.

"Oh, I didn't have to see to know what happened," Mr. Greene said in all calmness. "I have been observing these two for quite a while now, in fact." Both Nate and Alex were surprised at this. What did he mean, 'observing'? "I think they have something deeper going on."

Nate gritted his teeth and Alex looked away. How much did this teacher know, anyway?

The headmaster blinked at the students' reactions. "Mr. Greene, I don't believe you are in place to make the decisions around here," the headmaster said. "In fact, I suggest you head back to your class immediately and let me handle this myself." The headmaster waited for Mr. Greene to leave, but he made no movement.

"I suggest counseling," Mr. Greene said, and Alex and Nate gaped. He suggested _what_? "I believe it would be better for both of them to solve their problems. Think about it, headmaster," Mr. Greene reasoned. "What is suspension really going to do to them? Give them a few weeks off? They won't get down to the root of the problem," Mr. Greene glanced at Alex, then at Nate, then back to the headmaster. "Counseling is the only way I think of this to finally be solved."

"Hell no!" Nate hissed, and all three other people looked at him. "You're crazy," he spat. "If you think I'm going to go into some counseling shit business—"

"I suggest you watch your tongue, mister Gray," the headmaster warned. She looked at Mr. Greene and bit her lip. Should she really give into this? Would it be best for the students? She sighed. She didn't want Franklin High to have a reputation for suspending two students. She decided it wouldn't hurt to try. "Okay," the headmaster finally agreed, exhaling. Nate refrained himself from speaking. "Do you know any counselors around town, Mr. Greene?"

Mr. Greened grinned triumphal. He knew he was going to win. Who wouldn't understand his logic? "As a matter of fact, I do," Mr. Greene said casually. "He's a very good friend of mine, actually. He would be perfect to deal with a situation like this."

"And what situation is that?" Nate spat. "We're not little kids. I think we could take a suspension," he glanced at Alex, not really bothering to ask her for her opinion. Although, Alex agreed with him one hundred percent. So she didn't interfere. "Plus, I don't think I want to get down to whatever the root of the problem is," Nate continued sharply. "I can handle hating Russo for the rest of my life."

These words stung Alex. Did he really have a good enough reason to hate her so much? Shouldn't she be the one hating him more than the other way around? What the hell was this guy's problem? He didn't have a good enough reason! On the other hand, Alex sure did!

But Alex didn't have the energy to argue. Her cheek still stung from the freaking slap Nate had given her; she would have to save the beating for later. Besides, she knew Nate would probably convince them not to get them into counseling. It was impossible to win Nate when he got pissed.

Impossible for anyone but her, of course.

"Uh," she interrupted feeling all six eyes land on her. She looked down. "I really want to go to the nurse now…"she said, hating to show weakness in front of Nate.

Nate smirked. So he _had_ hurt her. Good.

The headmaster's eyes widened. "Oh, dear, of course!" she said, taking Alex's arm gently. "Now, mister Gray, be waiting at my office," she warned. "I'll be there in a few minutes," she glanced at Mr. Greene, who still had a smirk on his face. "You as well, Mr. Greene."

"Of course," Mr. Greene said. "And I will make sure mister Gray arrives there, too." He glanced at Nate, who had an outraged face.

But the headmaster was convinced enough, so she nodded and led an embarrassed Alex to the nurse's office.

Nate looked at Mr. Greene, his face completely red with fury. "You have no right in what I have or don't have to do, Mr. Greene," Nate spat his way. Mr. Greene's expression was calm, though. "So don't expect me to go through with this."

Mr. Greened shrugged. "I don't expect you to." He stated, and Nate stared at him.

"Then why—" Nate asked, but Mr. Greened cut him off with a wave.

"Of course, I don't expect you to follow through, but I do expect miss Russo to," Mr. Greene smiled. Nate gaped. Did he really think Alex would agree to this? She wouldn't! Would she? "She's very bright and loves new challenges, and is more open minded than you," he continued, and Nate gritted his teeth.

"I can do whatever Russo can," he said. "Maybe even better."

Mr. Greene laughed carefree. "You hide that fact very well, do you not, mister Gray? No matter, I trust miss Russo will be able to complete this task. As for you…" Mr. Greene grimaced. "Well, I'm afraid you may not be able to."

Mr. Greene almost smiled at the face Nate was making. Of course he was going to win. He knew what would bother Nate the most, and that was thinking Alex was beating him at something, anything—even if it was something he hated. That's all he needed. Teenagers these days were just so gullible and easily manipulated!

"Of course I'm able to!" Nate exclaimed. If Alex was able to, then he was up for it as well! "Count me in with the freaky counselor person," Nate said. "I bet I'll last more days than Alex." He challenged. Mr. Greene raised an eyebrow.

"We'll see," he said, and Nate turned around and walked towards the headmaster's office. "We'll see." Mr. Greene muttered one last time, and followed Nate to the headmaster's office.

--

Alex walked out of the school, her face still stinging from the incident earlier that day. Mitchie, hearing about it when she was back from the appointment she had that morning, wouldn't shut up about it.

"So he just slapped you, right then and there." Mitchie said clenching her books to her chest.

Alex sighed, "Yes Mitchie. He slapped me, right there in front of everyone. Humiliating me even more then I already was." Alex hadn't really realized how mad she was until then. With everything that was said, and happened in those few hours, she was too shocked to realize that she was so pissed off.

Mitchie opened her mouth, "Now you have to go to-" She was cut off.

"YES!" Alex screamed at her, "Look, I don't want to talk about it." She watched as Nate pulled out of the parking lot, and she glared at his beat up old Buick.

Mitchie looked down, "Sorry."

Alex sniffled and looked at Mitchie. "I'm not in the mood to hang out tonight.." she started, "I'll call you tomorrow okay?"

Mitchie nodded sadly, "Sure thing Lex. Do you want a ride?"

Alex wrapped her sweater tighter around her shoulders, "Nah, I need some time to breathe."

Mitchie smiled weakly, "Alright. Call me tomorrow." she waved and walked to her car, leaving Alex in the chilly autumn air.

Nate however, wasn't taking things as calmly, after finally being let out of the headmaster's office at the end of the day. He sped out of the parking lot, looking for salvation. After trying to find a party he gave up and pulled off into an old park, letting out his frustration by kicking a tree. "Shit!" he screamed, realizing he used his bad foot. He was even more pissed off now.

Alex was destroying his life. He limped over to a bench and sat down clenching his fists in frustration. Counseling the sound of the word was horrible, and the thought of Alex having to be there too- he shuddered, deciding he would rather not think about that. He was about to get up and walk back to his car when he noticed someone walking in the direction. Russo.

Alex decided to take her usually shortcut through the park, maybe hang out on the swings for a bit to ease her frustration. That was until she saw Nate limping in her direction. The anger came whooshing back, but she couldn't help but smirk at his limping. Probably kicked something.

"Wipe that smile off your face Russo." Nate said with a snarl. "You're the reason I'm limping."

"Oh please." Alex scoffed. "Your anger issues are the reason your limping. That or stupidity. Kicked a rock?"

Nate glared, "It's all your fault that we're in counseling."

Alex put her hand on her hip. "Again. Your anger issues are the reason we're in counseling."

"It isn't funny." Nate snapped, "You know, it seems to me that you want to be in counseling."

Alex scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "Yeah, cause I totally want to spend an hour and a half with an ass everyday. You're right Nate! I do wanna be in counseling." she said her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Nate glared, his foot starting to feel better. He walked closer to her. "You know, I'm glad I hit you. You deserved it."

Alex opened her mouth in disbelief and before she knew it, her hand had swung and there was a bright red hand print on Nate's cheek. He held his hand to it, anger in his eyes. "How does it feel, Gray?" Alex said smugly. "Grow up, and maybe you'll realize that sometimes things won't go your way, and you're just going to have to deal with it." She shrugged, "So don't show up, I wouldn't give a fuck. You'd just be proving a point, that you're too immature to handle something as miniscule as counseling. Just get over yourself and realize that you're not a child." Alex was fuming and she pushed past him aggressively.

Nate turned, mad as ever. "You grow up!" he said, mentally smacking himself after it was said. Seeing as he heard Alex laugh, as she walked away.

After Alex was long gone, he sat on the playground and thought about what she had said. As much as he hated to admit it, Alex was partially right. With that, he decided he would prove both Mr. Greene and Alex wrong.

--

Alex sat alone in the school hallway outside the principals office, getting stared and pointed out, because everyone knew why she was there. She just pretended she had no idea all eyes were on her. The bell rang, so in a few minutes she was the only one there. Mr. Greene, suddenly appeared before her, standing with a very tall man.

"Clark, this is Alexandria Russo." Mr. Greene announced. The man was much taller then Mr. Greene and had dark hair, and dark eyes. He easily matched the description, 'tall, dark, and handsome.'

"Hello Alexandria," he said nodding, "I'm Mr. Evans, I'll be your counselor." he flashed a glistening smile and held out a hand.

"A-Alex," she corrected shaking his hand.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Alex." He looked around, "Didn't you say there was a boy I would be counseling as well?"

Alex scoffed, she knew he was going to skip. Mr. Greene cleared his throat, "That's correct, I'll go find him, you and Alex can go into the conference room and begin if you'd like." He walked away, rubbing his temples.

Mr. Evans motioned Alex to walk into the room. She walked in, and sunk into a chair, and Mr. Evans sat across from her.

"So Alex, Mr. Greene was telling me a little bit about you. He never mentioned why he wanted me to meet with you." He said folding his hands.

Alex sighed, "Well you know that kid. Nate? Well he slapped me, because we've had this lifelong rivalry and yeah.."

Mr. Evans nodded once, "Alright. We'll work with that." He opened up a notebook and began to write.

Alex looked around the room uneasily. Avoiding Mr. Evan's gorgeous eyes. "So." he began again. "What do you like to do?" Alex was confused, why did that matter?  
Alex shrugged, "I dunno. Uhm.." she tried to think of something, so she wouldn't look like such an idiot.

Mr. Evans, "What about reading? Are there any contemporary writers or poets that you particularly admire?" he asked.

Alex sighed, "No." she breathed in, "Not really."

"Oh." Evan said frowning, "Why is that?"

Alex shook her head, "Because they suck?"

"Oh." he said again. "So you don't enjoy reading?"

"No." Alex said firmly again. "It's hard for me.." she opened her mouth to continue, but closed it, deciding against it.

A minute later the door burst open, and in walked Nate. But it wasn't the Nate Alex had expected. He had trimmed his bushy, wild curls. He was wearing a nice, cotton button up, and jeans with a pair of converse. This. This was not the person Alex expected to show up. Hell, she didn't expect him to show up period.

Mr. Evans stood up. "Hello, you must be Nate."

Nate nodded once and walked over to a chair next to Alex, but scooted it as far away as possible. Mr. Evans held out a hand.

"I'm Clark Evans, your counselor." Nate shook his hand and sat down, coughing. "Well now that Mr. Gray is here we can begin."

Alex smiled, even though she was dreading this, somehow Mr. Evans made things better. Nate rolled his eyes, trying not to make a witty remark.

"To begin I want both of you to tell me what it is about each other that bothers you. I don't want any nasty remarks." He looked at Nate, "Nate, let's start with you since we haven't spoke much yet."

Nate straightened up in his chair, "Hm. Things I don't like about Alex." he laughed, "How much time do we have? I may have to condense the list for time purposes." Alex glared at him. "First of all, she can't keep her mouth shut. Everytime I look around there she is, blabbing away about something. Let's see, she thinks she's superior, like she runs the show. She also thinks she's smarter than me, and has to make an effort to prove it-"

Alex stood up, "I've had enough." she realized she was standing and sunk back into the seat, "Mr. Evans, I don't see how this is effective."

Mr. Evans nodded, "Well, my theory is, is that once we get past the flaws we can find even ground, where you two don't argue as much. Does that make sense?"

Alex sighed and nodded, "You're right. I guess it does."

Nate scoffed, "There's another thing. She can't keep her pants on. Stop lusting over the fucking counselor."

Mr. Evans coughed, "Language." he scolded. After writing down a few things he folded his hands together. "Ah-ha. I see what's going on here."

Alex raised an eyebrow, and Nate stayed put.

"You have a crush on Alex."

Nate practically jumped out of his chair. "You're kidding right! You think I'd ever like that skank?" he shouted.

Alex stayed seated, trying not to get angry.

"She ruined my future. I will never like her, and I most certainly will never love her."

Alex scoffed, "Ruined your future? Please, melodramatic much?"

Nate shouted more, "See! There's another thing I don't like about her. The sarcasm. She is always using that sarcastic tone. Always."

Alex was suddenly standing as well, "Well you know what I hate about you?!" she began. "You have no respect for women." she said mater-of-factly.

Nate looked at her squinting his eyes, "That has nothing to do with this."

"It has everything to do with this. If you would have kept your hands to yourself then we wouldn't be here right now, and you wouldn't be so upset."

Nate looked at Mr. Evans, "There's another reason! She's always blaming me!"

Alex groaned, "I'm so done with you." She sat down and folded her arms.

Mr. Evans nodded towards Nate's chair, "Please take a seat Mr. Gray."

Nate sat down mimicking Alex by folding his arms as well.

"Okay, now I've got a taste of how you two interact with each other. What you two need is bonding."

"What?" They said in unison, emitting growls from the both of them.

"Hear me out here." Mr. Evans said sighing, "A project. For your communications class. Mrs. Wimmer wasn't going to assign it until next week, but after talking to her we've decided that it's best if you two pair up. The project will consist of the two of you, learning about each other. You'll have a month to learn about each others lives, and then you will write a paper on the other person."

Alex looked at Nate as Mr. Evans spoke, he was already fed up with the idea, as she had expected. What Mr. Evans had said before, about Nate having a crush on Alex suddenly hit her like millions of rocks being chucked at her head. She liked the douchebag. She mentally smacked herself. As much as she hated this realization, she couldn't deny it. All this time, she was confusing her emotions. She sighed.

Mr. Evans nodded. "I understand how this could upset you, but it's the best thing for everyone. Your parents will be informed, and there will be scheduled times for working outside of school. This project is half of your grade for the class, so if you mess this up, you can kiss graduation goodbye."

Nate stood again, "This is an outrage! You've already forced me in a room with her, now your going to stick her with me outside of school too!"

Alex sighed again, she should have put up a fight too. However, she couldn't get the thought of being with Nate out of her head. She wished Nate would slap her again, and knock some sense into her. But if he did that, he would end up suspended or maybe even expelled, and she knew he was too smart for that.

Mr. Evans, shook his head and lifted his hands, "No exceptions and no excuses."

Nate looked at Alex, "Are you just going to sit there?!"

Alex shrugged, "You heard him. No exceptions." she decided to start messing with him. "You know Mr. Evans, I really appreciate your mechanism, you're really getting through to me." she winked, and then looked at Nate with a smirk, "I must say, you are a very talented man." she said, drawling out her 'very.'

Mr. Evans coughed, and straightened his tie, "Why thank you Alex."

Alex shifted her eyes to Nate, who seemed to be bothered by her attempt to make him jealous. She smirked.

She leaned over the table and clutched his tie, "Is this new? It's so smooth." she said in a seductive tone.

Nate groaned, "You know Alex, I don't think you should be in counseling. I actually think NA would be better for you."

Alex dropped the act for a moment, "Hm?"

"Nympho's Anonymous." He said with a laugh.  
Mr. Evans pulled away from Alex. "Alright, I think we've had enough for today. Our next meeting will be on Monday. This weekend you two will be starting your project at the Gray's home. I expect to see some notes on what you've learned on Monday."

Nate stood up angrily and was about to leave when he heard Alex.

"Bye Mr. Evans." she said sexily.

Nate clenched his fists. Alex pushed passed him, ignoring him completely.

Alex smiled to herself and Nate smirked. "Two can play at that game." he muttered.

And so it began.

* * *

_Sorry it took so long. We've both been really busy. Alas, it is here. The fact that Alex realized her feelings so quickly is because this is designed to be a short story, so.  
Claudia's part is from the beginning to the first little '--', and the rest is Mikaylie's. :)_

_REVIEW PLEASE!_


End file.
